Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1887-05-20
The Azteo Fair.

The Azteo Fair.
Turn off from Market street ut tn,
corner Of Eighth; leave ali the display
LOT gayety, business and energy; leay,
all these tokens Of industry, life and In
telligence of q progI essive and wide
awake people behind. Stop ut the en-
trance OF the Institute Hall and entel
upon Q representative bit of q world
across whose threshold modern progress
has hardly stepped, world where ma
chlnery Is despised, where incoming
newspapers are unknown, where five
millions OF people do not know how Il
read; and yet q world here at our very
doors rich In every element Of wealth
and beauty.
For 1t is the quaint Mexican village
We have come to see, and yonder is the
bamboo cabin OF the peon. There he Ia
at work on his home. made hand loom,
his corn grinding hand mill, his hand
and foot turning machine.
1t Is our sister r. public-thls won.
derful Mexico. Yet how little We know
of her people, her government, her vast
resources, her romantic history. We
get q glimpse Of 1t here In this "Mexi.
can Village"-x slice Of Mex leo brou2 ht
to our very doors. Our people, particu.
larly those living in cities, get their
nowladge not from books but from the
stage, the pulpit, tho illustrated leo
lures, the newspapers and the pano.
rama.
We vaguely k1ow that Mexico was
the region OF bull fights and revolution.
We may now CLEAN Q wider idea OF this
land OF mystery and beauty, of lost goo =
aud glorious Of bloody history, OF buried
treasures and priceless mines, and
strange arch 70 illogical secrets and prob.
lens. For Is not Mexico the Egypt and
the India Of our western world?
Over into this vast, rich, sister Re
public our American enterprise has
lately thrown the iroa graphing hooks
Of Its railroads; o whisper OF annexa.
ton thrills diplomatic circles. Shall 1t
be done with dollars or bAyonets? Uncle
Sam has q secret itching to lay his
hand upon this people, to
shake them mp and pull them cut Of the
ruts OF dreamy, ancient custom, and
set his thousand and one forms OF 10 bor.
saving machinery 70 whirring and
in land where they still
grind corn between two stones, weave
upon rude hand looms, and pillow with a
crooked stick. Yet what wonderful
hand work they dol 1t Is equal In fn.
lsh and deicacy to that of tho Japanese
Glauos OF the workmen in
this village; turn your eyes for the
p,esert from that ceutve Of attraction to
the curious crowds-the bare armed
Mexican women on thoir knees In the
middle of O platform. grinding corn be
tween two stones, one Inclined after the
manner of o lauudress's washboard-
and cooking the meal into tortilln oak ca
10 DO distributed among tho spectators
OlOse your ears to the sweet, trick ling
music PLAYED by that band Of native
N usicians seated yonder at the back OF
the "villa9e," in their picturesque COS
TUNES and wide eombreros. Above the
ireamy stralEB they arc playing on
their strange stringed instruments
,hrills the voice of that red and green
parrot. perched on the palm roof of
poems BAN boo hut, singing Spanish
owe song, with Its round head senti
mentally on one side We will listen
and look az these later. Just row we
must examine the work Of these feather
srtists. They sit in little stalls, and
hey have b,fora them q large basket
lcaped with the bodies OF bright plum
aged birds. They are pulling them to
1ieces-to what end? VIA is that
slender fingered peon Going with that
cumming bird-a graen, blue aud gold
fragment OF rainbow?
he Is making feather pictnre upon
hat card board before him. Bit by Bit
10 guns the bright foliage upon the
paper, and there grows under his touch
he picture Of bird in q tree, a wreath
II flowers, an oriole In a hammo nest
Iwung from mango bough. The pic
ures look as though wrought In richest
Ill colors, velvety and rich. Such pic
ures, only OF larger eize and more
Ikillfully wrought, adorned the halls
II the Montezuma when the daring
read of the conqueror Cortez crossed
heir threshold. The King himself wore
IN iridescent robs of feathers covered
With pictures and symbolic designs,
md his palace walls were hung with
fe ather tapestries. Pass TO the next stall
md rec what can be made out of straw.
Not brooms or baskets, but pictures,
mere pictures, ingenious and beautiful
'eeiRns, landscapes, water scenes and
lowers, formed out Of bits OF different
'olored strnws, wisps of which are bs-
ore the artist. 1t Is wonderful that
uch thing can be done, but there are
he pictures, and we watched him form.
nR them with his def fingers.
Here are the rag statuettes and their
ingenious workers. They are exceed,
nRly "cute" representations OF men
md women OF ths working classes.
hat bright, boyish, young fellow
mong the rag artists is the father OF
he active brown little tot in the arms
( Its l6-year.uld mother. Here is the
yorker In horn; taking the rough
horn, he presently gets out of
some beautifully.shaped and polished
rticle, cup or a salver, glossy and
oldenly transparent as amber. Step
CROSS the hall. after "a glance at the
'arious gourds and leather drinking
'essels. and water bottles, aud this
ar2e collection OF beautiful Mexican
oiiery, antique and modern.
Stop and buy q tortilla and eat IL
fier watching the bare, brown.armed|
dexicau woman grind. and punch aud
at the meal; crushed fine from the
oaked corn. The little cake, however,
Ias the sweetness of corn that has not
'een ground in mill. 1 know that
elbow well. Have l not often, In the
abin of negro ''mammy," eaten sash
AXE" Of corn meal, ground on q hand.
nill and cooked in corr shueks under a
esp of clean. hot oak ashes? 1t is de.
lcious when you are just back from
lack btrrying, and have fresh sweet
'uttermiik to 20 with 1t. But we were
rossing the hall to see the artisan on
he other side, the brieht.eyed, smiling
title fellow who Is making such ex.
uisite hlagree out Of finest silver wire. |
wore car. rings they would be fairy
hings like those. That necklace 10